June is Gun Violence Awareness Month
As part of Gun Violence Awareness Month, Tuesday has been designated National Orange Day – not as in the fruit, but the color.
Organizers of the nationwide event ask people to pledge to wear orange to “honor the millions of lives lost to gun violence and inspire others to take action in stopping our national epidemic of gun violence.”
Why orange? Organizers say the color symbolizes the value of human life, in part because “hunters wear orange to alert other hunters that they’re there – as a way to take care of their own life and the lives of others.”
Coincidentally, Modesto Police Chief Galen Carroll will speak at the next meeting of the Democratic Women’s Club of Stanislaus County. His scheduled topic is what his department does to foster a positive relationship with residents in and around the community, according to a news release from the club.
Additionally, he is going to provide an overview of what is happening with law enforcement across the country especially relating to minority neighborhoods.
But “I am sure he will be peppered with ‘What the heck?’ questions after all the (nationwide) controversy on cop violence,” DWCS President Patty Hughes said in an email to The Bee on Monday. “We have minority subcommittees within our club: African-American and Latina. We also have the Central Valley representative from the Brady Campaign who is one of our club officers.”
The meeting is Saturday at 11 a.m. at the Denny’s restaurant at 1525 McHenry Ave., just south of Granger Avenue. It is free and open to the public. To learn more, contact Hughes at (209) 303-4042 or DemWomensClub@gmail.com.
Organizers of Gun Violence Awareness Month say its goals are:
▪ To promote greater awareness about gun violence and gun safety.
▪ To concentrate annual heightened attention to gun violence during the summer months, when gun violence typically increases.
▪ To bring residents and community leaders together to discuss ways to make communities healthier.
To learn more, go to www.gunviolenceawarenessmonth.org.
This story was originally published June 1, 2015 at 11:04 AM with the headline "June is Gun Violence Awareness Month."